Mexican anchialine fauna — With emphasis in the high biodiversity cave El Aerolito

Calderón-Gutiérrez, Fernando; Solís-Marín, Francisco Alonso; Gómez, Patricia; Sánchez, Carlos; Hernández‐Alcántara, Pablo; Álvarez-Noguera, Fernando; Yáñez-Mendoza, Germán

doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2016.11.001

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This difference highlights the uniqueness and scientific value of the marine blue hole ecosystem. The fauna in the marine blue hole encompassed a diverse range of taxa, with annelids, arachnids, chaetognaths, echinoderms, gastropods, poriferans, turbellarians, and crustaceans occupying dominant positions [8,42], as confirmed by our results.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Environmental DNA Sequencing Reveals a Highly Complex Eukaryote Community in Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, Xisha, South China Sea

Liu

Fu³

et al. 2019

Microorganisms

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We report an Illumina high-throughput sequencing protocol of eukaryotic microbes in the world’s deepest marine blue hole, Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, Xisha, South China Sea. The variable V9 region of small subunit (SSU) rDNA, was sequenced using this approach from the waters of blue hole and outer reef slope. 917,771 unique eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene sequences and 6093 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. Significant differences in the eukaryotic composition were observed between the blue hole and outer reef slope, and the richness in the blue hole was much higher than that in the outer reef slope. The richness and diversity of eukaryotes in the blue hole were both lowest at 60 m and highest at 100 m depth. Eukaryotic microalgae assemblages dominated by Dinophyceae were the most abundant in the 10–20 m water column in the hole. Fauna was the main group at and below a depth of 60 m, where Araneae and Cyclopoida were dominant in the 60 m and 80 m water layer, respectively. There was a large number of Entoprocta at a depth of 180 m in the hole, where little oxygen was detected. Turbidity and nitrite concentration had a significant effect on the eukaryote community structure (p < 0.01).

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Environmental DNA Sequencing Reveals a Highly Complex Eukaryote Community in Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, Xisha, South China Sea

Liu

Fu³

et al. 2019

Microorganisms

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…“steep-walled natural well that extends below the water table” [ 49 ]) lacking direct connection with the sea. They are approximately 60m long and are 38m and 52m deep, respectively [ 20 , 48 ]. Dominant sediments are silt and organic matter accumulated from the adjacent jungle.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Marine caves are also known to support higher specific richness than anchialine caves; the same pattern is likely to happen in anchialine caves with direct connection to the sea compared with those with indirect connection (i.e. marine water enters the cave through fissures and pores of the rock) [ 1 , 20 , 26 , 28 , 35 , 36 ]. Several other factors have been also reported to influence the community structure in caves, such as depth, location of the halocline, and food availability [ 4 , 35 ].Since most anchialine species are characterized by low population densities and high levels of endemism [ 4 , 27 , 32 , 37 , 38 ], they are especially vulnerable to the threat of extinction as a result of anthropogenic pressures [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 36 , 39 – 41 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to its karstic nature, low elevation and relatively flat topography, the Yucatan Peninsula has one of the highest densities, as well as the longest explored anchialine cave systems in the world [ 20 , 42 – 45 ]. In particular, the anchialine caves of Cozumel Island have a high biodiversity [ 19 , 20 , 46 ], including numerous stygobitic (i.e., aquatic, obligate cave-dwellers) species [ 5 , 7 , 47 ]. Additionally, Cozumel’s caves vary in their geomorphological features (e.g., size, depth, distance to the sea) [ 48 ], making them an ideal place to detect ecological patterns without geographical bias that may result from the comparison of anchialine caves located in multiple locations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ecological patterns in anchialine caves

2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anchialine caves are characterized by high levels of endemism and extreme conditions. However, few ecological studies have been conducted in these ecosystems. This study integrates biotic and abiotic parameters of two sets of cave systems with contrasting high and low species richness. Seven ecological patterns are used to explain the expected species richness and density in an anchialine cave. In addition, the population size for conspicuous macrofauna was estimated. The high impact that single-events have on anchialine fauna are also reported. These findings reinforce the conclusions of previous studies of the high extinction risk of anchialine cave fauna, and substantiate the necessity of ad hoc conservation strategies for anchialine caves.

show abstract

“…Although cave fauna is mainly composed by crustaceans, several studies have reported organisms of other taxa inhabiting these ecosystems (Sket 1996;Gibert and Deharveng 2002;Calderón-Gutiérrez et al 2017). Concerning echinoderms, 58 species have been reported inhabiting cave environments, distributed into the five classes of the phylum: Crinoidea (2 species), Asteroidea (8), Ophiuroidea (39), Echinoidea (5) and Holothuroidea (4) (Martínez García et al 2009;Pomory et al 2011;Bribiesca-Contreras et al 2013;Tan et al 2014;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Troglomorphism in the brittle star Ophionereis commutabilis Bribiesca-Contreras et al., 2019 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea, Ophionereididae)

Márquez-Borrás¹,

Solís-Marín²,

Mejía-Ortíz³

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to their peculiar and sometimes bizarre morphology, cave fauna (across invertebrates and vertebrates from both aquatic and terrestrial cave habitats) have fascinated researchers throughout history. Despite their success in colonizing most marine ecosystems, the adaptations of cave brittle stars (Ophiuroidea) to a stygobiotic lifestyle have been scarcely examined. Employing comparative methods on a data set of two species belonging to the genus Ophionereis, this study addresses whether a cave-dwelling species from Cozumel exhibited similar troglomorphic traits as those of other taxa inhabiting caves. Our work demonstrated that some characters representing potential morphological cave adaptations in O. commutabilis were: bigger sizes, elongation of arms and tube feet and the presence of traits potentially paedomorphic. In addition, an element of ophiuroid’s photoreceptor system, as well as pigmentation, was observed to be peculiar in this stygobiotic species, plausibly as a result of inhabiting a low light-energy environment. Finally, we add evidence to the statement that O. commutabilis is a cave endemic species, already supported by demography, distribution and origin of this species, and now by a typical array of troglomorphisms.

show abstract

Mexican anchialine fauna — With emphasis in the high biodiversity cave El Aerolito

Cited by 11 publications

References 39 publications

Environmental DNA Sequencing Reveals a Highly Complex Eukaryote Community in Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, Xisha, South China Sea

Environmental DNA Sequencing Reveals a Highly Complex Eukaryote Community in Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, Xisha, South China Sea

Ecological patterns in anchialine caves

Troglomorphism in the brittle star Ophionereis commutabilis Bribiesca-Contreras et al., 2019 (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea, Ophionereididae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About